Sr. Payroll, Benefits & Equity Specialist
Astrolab
Accounting & Finance
Hawthorne, CA, USA
USD 131k-148k / year + Equity
Posted on May 20, 2026
Venturi Astrolab, Inc. (Astrolab) is pioneering new ways to explore and operate on distant planetary bodies. We are singularly focused on designing, building, and operating a fleet of multi-purpose commercial planetary rovers to extend and enhance humanity’s presence in the solar system. We are seeking motivated, creative, and exceptional people to join our world-class team.
This position plays a critical role in ensuring payroll accuracy, compliance with California wage and hour laws, and a positive employee experience. The ideal candidate thrives in a high-growth environment, maintains exceptional attention to detail, and enjoys improving processes and systems across People Operations.
This position plays a critical role in ensuring payroll accuracy, compliance with California wage and hour laws, and a positive employee experience. The ideal candidate thrives in a high-growth environment, maintains exceptional attention to detail, and enjoys improving processes and systems across People Operations.
- Application Deadline
- June 02, 2026
- Department
- People Operations
- Employment Type
- Full Time
- Location
- Hawthorne, California
- Workplace type
- Onsite
- Compensation
- $131,000 - $148,000 / year
What you'll do:
Payroll Administration
- Own end-to-end processing of biweekly multi-state payroll through Insperity, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance
- Calculate and coordinate final pay for California terminations in compliance with state wage and hour laws
- Process employee changes including compensation updates, promotions, transfers, leaves of absence, and terminations
- Conduct payroll audits and reconciliations to ensure accurate employee pay data, deductions, and tax reporting
- Resolve payroll discrepancies and partner with employees and managers on payroll-related questions
Benefits Administration
- Administer employee benefit programs including medical, dental, vision, 401(k), FSA/HSA, COBRA, and leave-related benefits
- Serve as a primary point of contact for employee benefits support and vendor coordination
- Manage benefit enrollments, qualifying life events, terminations, and open enrollment activities
- Ensure benefit-related records and documentation remain accurate and compliant
Equity Compensation Administration
- Own day-to-day administration of the company’s equity compensation program in partnership with the Head of People & Culture
- Manage equity transactions including stock option grants, exercises, vesting schedules, RSU activity, and employee terminations via Carta
- Create, maintain, and audit equity administration records, trackers, and electronic filing systems
- Prepare and route equity documentation and approval workflows in a timely and accurate manner
- Partner closely with Accounting, Finance, Legal, and external equity vendors to ensure compliance and reporting accuracy
- Help ensure equity administration processes comply with applicable federal, state, and local regulations
Systems & Process Improvement
- Maintain data integrity across HRIS for payroll, benefits, and equity administration systems
- Support reporting and audits related to payroll, benefits, and equity administration
What you'll bring:
- 4+ years of recent experience in payroll and benefits administration
- Direct experience administering employee equity compensation programs, including stock options and/or RSUs (highly preferred)
- Strong knowledge of California wage and hour laws and payroll compliance requirements
- Experience with HRIS/payroll systems such as Insperity, ADP, Rippling, Paylocity, or similar platforms
- Exceptional attention to detail and ability to manage highly sensitive and confidential information
- Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills
- Advanced Excel skills and proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite
- Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to work cross-functionally across Finance, Legal, Accounting, and People teams
- Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, high-growth environment with shifting priorities
- Experience in aerospace, manufacturing, engineering, or high-growth technology companies (preferred, not required)
- CPP certification or related payroll certification is a plus
Benefits and Perks
- Join a team of best-in-class engineers building the foundation of planetary surface exploration
- Equity ownership in the company
- Comprehensive health benefits, including medical, dental, vision, and mental health support
- 401(k) plan with company match
- Flexible PTO and parental leave
- Home office set up reimbursement
- Weekly lunch stipend, plus complimentary snacks and beverages on-site
- Once a month social hour on-site with food and drinks
About Astrolab
Having a strong, inclusive, and inspired team is essential to accomplishing our bold mission. Employees are our biggest asset, and we are deeply committed to them and our values. At Astrolab we…
Demonstrate and inspire trust. Interactions are direct, honest, and respectful. We are fair and transparent with what we do and why.
Thrive in balance. Balance gives us perspective and keeps us motivated and inspired. We commit to rewarding work and a fulfilling personal life.
Seek diverse perspectives. We ask questions, engage in productive debate and offer alternatives to ensure our solutions and products are robust and a reflection of our collective best.
Move with purpose. Quality and reliability are accomplished through efficient ideation and iteration. We act with a sense of urgency and deliver what we promise, always with the big picture in mind.
Make an impact. We intentionally move our community and industry into the future through our work, practices, and actions.
Our Hiring Process
Stage 1:
Application Review
Stage 2:
Recruiter Phone Interview
Stage 3:
Video Interviews
Stage 4:
On-site Interview
Astrolab is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, gender, gender identity, parental or pregnancy status, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, or veteran status. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request to careers@astrolab.space. We strive to remove unconscious and unnecessary barriers to build the best team. While we’ve outlined what an ideal candidate could look like, we know that you may bring something unanticipated and essential to the team. If you’re reading this and can see yourself contributing, please register below.
